1. big, large, tall, great, major [adjective]

[Note on pronunciation: in this case the phonetic script would be identical to ‘groot’ so we have not included it.]

Examples:
– "Dat is een grote kerel."
("That’s a big/tall guy.")

– "Wat ben jij groot geworden!"
("How you’ve grown!" Literally: "What have you become tall!")

– "Helemaal alleen in de grote stad."
("All alone in the big city.")

– "Deze winkel heeft alleen grote maten."
("This shop only has large sizes.")

– "Wilt u uw cola klein, medium, groot of extra-groot?"
("Would you like your coke to be small, medium, large or extra-large?")

– "Dat is een grote militaire operatie."
("That is a major military operation.")

2. in size [adjective]

Examples:
– "Deze kamer is 20 vierkante meter groot."
("This room is 20 square meters in size.")

– "Deze kamer is twee keer zo groot als die andere."
("This room is twice as big as / twice the size of the other one.")

3. major (musical scale) [adjective]

Example:
– "Dat stuk is geschreven in D groot."
("That piece is written in D major.")

Expressions:
– "Grote mensen.": tall/big people. This is how small kids refer to adults.

– "Hoe een klein land groot kan zijn.": lit. ‘how a small country
can be big’, this is often said when the Dutch can celebrate notable
achievements, for example in international sport events.

Related words:
– "Groots": grand.

Example:
– "De organisatie belooft een groots evenement voor groot en klein."
("The organization promises a grand happening for adults and children." Lit.: "… for big and small.")

– "Groot": grand, great. See also ‘Dutch grammar: declining of adjectives‘.

Example:
– "André Hazes was een groot artiest."
("André Hazes was a great artist.")

 1. back [adverb; ‘tu-rug’]

The word ‘terug’ is also frequently used to create ‘composed verbs’, see ‘Examples’.

Examples:
– "Geef terug!"
("Give it back!" Here the composed verb is ‘teruggeven’: to give back (or to return).)

– "Sander is (weer) terug van vakantie."
("Sander is back (again) from holiday/vacation.")

– "Ik heb te weinig geld teruggekregen!"
("I was short-changed!" with composed verb ‘terugkrijgen’: to receive, to get back. Literally: "I was given back too little money.")

– "Niet goed, geld terug."
(Popular warranty slogan, literally: "Not good, money back". You will also see: "Niet goed, geld terug – garantie" as a warranty ("garantie") policy.)

– "Ik ben over 5 minuten terug."
("I’ll be back in 5 minutes.")

– "In ‘Back to the future‘ reist de hoofdpersoon terug in de tijd."
("In ‘Back to the future’ the main character travels back in time.")

– "Alle laptopbatterijen met oneven serienummers moeten terug naar de fabriek."
("All laptop batteries with odd serial numbers have to be returned to the factory.")

– "Door het slechte weer zijn veel vakantiegangers teruggekeerd."
("Due to the bad weather, many holidaymakers/vacationers have gone back." Composed verb: ‘terugkeren’.)

– "Kunt u mij later vanmiddag terugbellen?"
("Can you call me back later this afternoon?")

Expressions:
– "Niet terug hebben van": used when one can’t compete, or is silenced (by an argument).

Examples:
– "De Nederlandse atleet had niet terug van de snelle start van de Rus."
("The Dutch athlete could not compete with the Russian’s fast start.")

– "Ik heb hem de waarheid gezegd en hij had er niet van terug!"
("I told him the truth and he was silenced!")

– "Erop terugkomen": to discuss later/to revisit (an issue) or to change an opinion or decision.

Examples:
– "Ik kom er later in deze presentatie op terug."
("I will discuss this later in the presentation.")

– "Ik had gezegd dat ik mee zou gaan vanavond, maar ik moet erop terugkomen."
("I said I’d join tonight, but I have to cancel (take it back).")

2. back (ago) [adverb]

This translation is not very common and the word ‘geleden’ is more often used.

Example:
– "Enige jaren terug was er een tekort aan water door het extreem warme weer."
("A few years ago there was a shortage of water due to the extremely warm weather.")